BACC (Beacon Academy Cooking Club)
by GZer0x
Summary: Follow four (original) characters as they arrive at Beacon, working to fight the good fight, juuuust as soon as they show up and actually pass initiation... ((Intros are 1-4, Main story begins Chapter 4)) Please enjoy, rate, and review? Rated T for levels of violence and possible language.
1. Chapter 1: Captain

Chapter 1:

"Warning: Restricted Area. It is unlawful to enter this area without the permission of the Installation Commander," read the fence's sign.

Redcap "Captain" Barberone (although everyone called him Cap) was kneeling behind some underbrush just beyond a fence. He was wearing dark and baggy carpenter's jeans with an assortment of pouches tied to his belt. He was wearing a bullet-proof vest with no sleeves over a t-shirt all under a black lightweight hoodie and a couple of empty bags on his back.

On the back of his belt was his weapon, Cor Animi, a somewhat odd weapon he had designed out of necessity. It was folding halberd with a spear and axe on one end, and a light machine gun on the other end. At the moment it had no sights attached, a thirty-round magazine, and an attachment below the barrel to act as a shotgun and launcher. When folded, the spear-end stuck out from the front with the axe to the side. This allowed Cap, or any operator, to fire the machine gun with an emergency bayonet while keeping the full axe and spear available for use.

Cap had his hair tied back while wearing a black patrol cap. He had been watching the base in front of him since an hour after sundown, now it was half an hour till midnight. The last patrol had just passed the perimeter on routine and didn't take the time to check beyond the barrier. They'd be back in 30, so it was time to get a move on.

First taking a drink of water from a near-empty bottle and grabbing a scarf around his neck, Cap pulled it up to his nose to cover his face. Moving away from his cover, Cap moved up to the fence and took out a pair of wire cutters and cut out a large enough hole for him to pass through.

Looking around, Cap could see a radio tower and barrack across the cement covered grounds, to the right was a vehicle depot and warehouses, and nothing much else to the left. Starting up a jog, he went towards the vehicle depot.

After a minute, Cap was crouching behind a cargo truck with a patrol on the other side. The patrol decided to split up to cover more of the area so they could return to their bunks faster and switch out. With both of them coming around either side, Cap removed his weapon and, holding it close, snuck under the truck before rolling to the other side. Even with his heart pounding, he quietly made his way to one of the warehouses. Getting into the shadow caused by a nearby lamp, he waited for a quartermaster to inspect the building he was aiming for.

Five minutes later, with no other patrollers nearby and the quartermaster leaving, Cap moved across the gap between his cover and the door. He took just over a minute to pick the older lock before slipping inside. With the doors shut, he took out a small flashlight and looked over a manifest by the door. Finding what he was looking for he broke open some crates and took the sacks off of his back. He began to fill them with old weapon and rare vehicle parts, old dust-handling equipment, computer parts, and tools, even taking some repair kits and equipment schematics he saw laying around. He put the full bags near the door and finished filling up his own pockets just as he heard noise outside.

He hid behind a crate next to the door as a guard with a bright flashlight entered before turning on the actual lights. As the guard moved forwards, Cap tightened his clothes and gear, gripped his weapon in one hand, ensuring that it was loaded, readying himself to run. The guard moved nearly to the end of the warehouse before Cap sprinted for the door, swinging his heavy bags on to his back. Turning from the doorway, he heard the guard yell behind him, "Halt! Halt!"

Cap ran out of the warehouses and depot before running in the opposite direction of the barracks. As luck would have it, the base had a quick-to-respond, non-human security patrol. As extra lights turned on at the base's heart, twenty paces ahead of him appeared five mechs, nearly a foot taller than himself and each carrying a large-caliber rifle and riot shield. The one in the center raised its weapon and spoke in a deep and menacing, synthetic, voice, "Possible Intruder, identify yourself."

Cap gritted his teeth and put his weapon to his hip while putting his other hand in the air. He took a moment to aim without acting suspicious and fired a grenade round at the center mech's legs. He dived and rolled to the side as the shot crippled the leader, the other mechs took aim as he moved closer from the side, firing when he was much closer. "Hostile confirmed," they all said at once.

Less than ten feet away, he fired another grenade at the furthest mech, damaging its defenses. As Cap ran at the closest of the security mechs, he grabbed the jointed end of Cor Animi and unfolded it into a full-length halberd.

Using its axe-end, he slashed at the leg of one of the attacking mechs, causing it to fall to the ground, before spinning and striking the next one. With Cor Animi's length and momentum, he struck into another mech's chest plate, then moved and stabbed the spear end into the shoulder joint of yet another before it could aim, withdrew a step before bringing its axe down and deep into the first, damaged and kneeling mech. Pulling his weapon out of the new scrap pile, Cap heard a digital voice behind him speaking in bellowing and short sentences and spotted one of the nearly destroyed mechs attempting to aim its weapon at him, "Squad one-two-nine. We are overrun. Hostile unit is too powerful."

As the automaton began to fire, Cap dived hard behind one of the wrecks. Catching a breath he grabbed a riot shield to protect himself from the bullet streams landing near him. Rather than taking time to fold and ready his Cor Animi for a firefight, he took a standard pistol from his belt and unloaded the 12-shot clip from behind the shield, silencing the last of his five opponents.

He reloaded his weapons and, instead of hanging around, he began to run for the closest fence. Alarms blared in the distance, shouting voices behind him could be heard clearer and were becoming louder. Looking behind him, Cap spotted just over two dozen of the base's actual security personnel running after him. "Damn it," he muttered as some of the closest of them began to fire.

Positioning his new shield into the ground, he loaded up the customized shotgun launcher under his barrel with a mix of smoke and flash grenades. As more shots ricocheted nearby, he held his breath and fired the eight rounds at the charging force. Smoke surrounded his attackers as bright flashes went off within the new-formed clouds.

Using the lull in the incoming fire, Cap strapped the shield to the back of his vest along with his bags and kept running at the nearby fence. Gripping his halberd and inhaling deeply, he planted the spear-end just before the base of the barbed-wire fence as he ran. Using his momentum, he pole vaulted over the barrier, taking his spear over with him, and landing on the ground with a heavy thud. Lucky that nothing was sprained or bleeding, he ran away from the base perimeter as his opposition recovered from the flashbangs.

Running through the dirt to the tree line, he began to circle the base's outskirts as fast as he could before making his way to a covered, industrial transport truck. He could see the base patrols searching the other side of the woods and he began throwing all of his external gear in the truck bed, he removed the coverings and threw them in over his bags. Starting up the truck but keeping the lights off, he turned on a radio to scan the nearby airwaves and drove in the dark slowly, using the nearly full moon as light, towards a dirt road he had scouted out earlier.

After about a few miles he turned on his lights and switched his radio to play music as no one was pursuing him in his course, then picked up speed as he reached a major road. "Next stop: Vale," he said aloud to no one as he joined the light stream of traffic. The new school year was going to start soon, and assuming he did the paperwork right and on time, he was headed to Beacon Academy.

The trip there would take him a few days by truck, but it was a good thing he had a job on the way and knew which rest-stops and motels had better food.


	2. Chapter 2: The Sword and Marksman

(so before i start off I just wanted to say that one of these characters i was inspired to write a few years back whose story was based on World of Warcraft's Death Knight story. So yes you will see some referencing dialogue in this chapter and the next.)

Chapter 2:

The day's air was still and the sky was covered in a blanket of monochrome white with the sun nowhere in sight. The surrounding forest was covered in a sheet of undisturbed snow which crunched under the black boots of cloaked figures, all of them armed with various blades and light guns. As the group moved through the clearing, one stopped at an odd lump of snow and kicked at it, revealing a scattered pile of silver shell casings with a black ring on their center. The figure began to move through the forest once again. Soon the group of ten came to a stop just outside of a small village and logging camp. Each of them drew their weapons and charged in unison.

Cinereal Okravalennyy walked through her army's latest conquest, a large farm. She wore a black cloak around her shoulders; on her feet were black boots with a steel inlay. Her pants where decorated with a grey and white camouflage and held up by a belt where she kept her weapon, a five-foot bastard sword with a fast-firing, and ten-inch long machine pistol as its hilt, which she had named Strigon. Besides her cloak, she wore a formal-looking black buttoned-up coat which had the insignia denoting her army on its sleeves. She, herself had shoulder-length, dull grey hair and, unlike anyone else in her company, and eye patch covered her left eye.

She looked down at her feet and watched as the snow around her became speckled with grey and black ashes. The farm's main crop may have been resistant to frost, but that was not the case when it came to the fires which now burned through the crops and within the silos and house. The area was silent besides the soft crackling of burning timber, the wind, and the crunching of her own steps in the snow. At least, until a gunshot rang out across the farm, and then two more. Drawing her weapon, Cinereal readied herself as she heard another burst of fire nearby followed by the yelp of one of her squad. From her blind side, she heard four quick shots as she fell to her knees on the ground. As she tried to lift her weapon at the incoming footsteps before shock hit her, she saw a slight red flash and a large object entering her eyesight before seeing nothing.

"All that I am. Anger cruelty, vengeance I bestow upon you, my chosen knight." She felt so dizzy, why is it so dark? "… to issue a new dark age for our scourge." She felt as though she was lying on the floor of a ship as it sat in a storm. "They must all be shown the price of their defiance." She began falling in the darkness as Zola called out to her to wake up as her face began to freeze.

Cinereal's eyes opened as she squinted her eyes at the pure white before her and the skull-splitting headache. She groaned and moved to stand up before she realized that her hands were bound behind her. "I would stay on the ground if I were you, you took a beating," a voice behind her said.

She flipped herself around to see a red-haired woman staring at her curiously. "Who-!" Cinereal attempted to shout while defiantly trying to stand before her legs crumpled beneath her. She looked up at the person before her and took in more details, her matching white and green pants and coat, her white beanie atop her long hair, her face's freckles and emerald eyes.

Cinereal took in the scene around her, the snow-covered ground, a blanket the woman was sitting on, the small campfire between them and cooking pot hanging over it.

"I'm a ranger, for starters. You've been out for eighteen hours. Also, even though you heal faster than normal, I am serious about not trying to stand." The woman said as she rested her hand on a battle rifle in her lap.

Cinereal complied, begrudgingly and moved to sit on her own blanket laid out beside her. "So let's start with who you are," the ranger began. "You're obviously a combatant; I'll guess even a shock trooper. And judging by your crest," she pointed at Cinereal's shoulder, an illustration resembling an ice-covered reaper "that makes you a part of the Northern Scourge, though you don't seem to be a fanatic. So what's your name, and what's your rank?"

Cinereal remained silent and stared hard at the ground to avoid eye contact. After about a minute she heard metal rattling and looked up to see the stranger pouring herself hot stew from the fire's pot and beginning to eat. After a few minutes of more silence the red-haired woman got up and walked over to Cinereal and untied her one of her hands from behind her. "Eat," she said, gesturing at the half empty pot. "It's no trick." Scooting closer to the pot, Cinereal slowly began to eat. "Rame's Joi," said her captor, with a full mouth, still eating. "So who are you, seems you should at least tell me so I could possibly inform your forces that I captured you. Besides I told you mine."

"... Specialist Okravalennyy, Cinereal." She mumbled. "Joiea Ofeast, hunter and student. Most call me Joi," came the response, "And I gave you those wounds, since we're all being honest. You really heal quick, pry those things they install you all with... Well goodnight," Joi said, oddly normally especially for midday and after such a statement, before lying down with her back to Cinereal and the fire. Soon after she lay down as well, sore and more exhausted than she should've been.

[Three Days Later, Night]

Left foot right foot. Left foot right foot. Left foot. Right foot... Right foot. Right foot, damn it! She yelled to herself, falling face down in the grey snow. Less than a minute later Cinereal heard the crunching of snow grow closer and stopping a few feet away. "You done running again?" Questioned Joi, "Now do you want the cuffs or the collar?"

She held up two sets of binding with a long chain leading to her hip pouch connected to both. Cinereal sighed and mumbled into the snow, "Cuffs."

"I didn't hear that, a bit louder, please."

"Cuffs!" Cinereal yelled into the ground as Joi locked a set of cuffs onto Cinereal's wrists connected to a long chain that she was holding.

"I told ya, love, you can't outrun me," Joi said as Cinereal got to her feet, "let's keep going. We still have a few miles left to walk tonight."

"Why does it even matter," mumbled Cinereal.

Joi stopped abruptly and didn't turn to look at her prisoner. "How many villages have we passed? Including the one where I clocked you," she paused, "I'll tell you, twelve. Twelve small towns, completely razed. Your army rounding up the populace you didn't attack on your way in and shipping them all off... Do you even know where they go?"

"We send them to the rear to turn the best into recruits, the rest are left to li-" She was cut off,

"You're wrong," Joi said, finally looking straight at Cinereal, "you may be hardly two years younger than me, but you're still a kid, and kids like you can be tricked into believing in fantasies."

Pulling on the chain, Joi began moving at a brisk pace. "The truth is right in front of all of you, but it's so easy for them to send a few people, a handful of families back. But what do you think is going to happen when we get to a bigger town; to a city even, hm?"

They stayed in silence for a while longer. "Resources get rare in a war. So why would you burn the fields?"

Three hours later, the thirteenth town they came to had been obliterated. Most of the buildings had had their doors and windows barricaded before the town was burned. Joi found an ATV in a machine shop and loaded her gear and Cinereal on board. Cinereal didn't try running anymore, anyway.


	3. Chapter 3: The Sword and Marksman Part 2

Chapter 3:

[Two Days Later, Early Morning.]

The speed of their ATV allowed them to catch up to newly burned towns, farm, and woodland. Pulling behind a snow bank, Joi set up her sights on a hill and looked over a burned-out section of forest. In the middle of the wasteland, a large group of black-hooded people, some carrying banner flags with the Northern Scourge emblem on it, all of the company carrying weapons ranging from axes, spears, and swords to light sub machine guns and battle rifles. "That was my company," whispered Cinereal.

Across the clearing was the outskirt of a city. Joi could see men and women setting up barricades between the buildings and preparing weapons. "Hunting rifles plus farm and logging equipment," muttered Joi, "Against combat guns and sword training... You realize if they break through, this region will be gone, unless the military and home guard get here before your forces win.

"Then we'll stop them," said Cinereal.

"Are you sure you even could? They are your comrades."

Cinereal stayed quiet for a while and Joi went back to watching the battlefield. Cinereal stood up abruptly, with new determination "Not anymore. I'm sorry."

Joi looked her new ally over before tying her hair back and going to open her bag of supplies. Calmly, she removed her camping gear, her cooking equipment, and her rations, setting them aside. "Here," she said as she removed three wrapped up packages and handed them to Cinereal. "Your weapon and two more I think would suit you better than me, and that third package is a load of dust, you know how to use it with your implants?"

Cinereal nodded and began to unwrap the packages. First, the longest, was her Strigon. She had used it to kill so many, swung it effortlessly; now it felt so heavy to her. She loaded its magazines before moving on to the next package, within it were two short swords in a style she hadn't seen before, under their hilts had a small compartment for dust. When she pressed hard against the tip of the grip, the compartment opened slightly and she could hear a trigger inside. Using the last package, she filled the two swords with a mix of red and yellow dust, closing their seals.

She looked at the rest of the dust, way more than any of her old soldiers or herself were ever given, and poured very precise amounts of them together. The weird mixture gave it at violet and black look when she had finished the mix. Holding Strigon, she cut open the back of both of her hands and buried them into the dust. Some of it glowed as it came in contact with her, soon she had adsorbed most of it into her, she could tell that the cybernetics implanted in her had stored it up.

Joi had been watching Cinereal for the entire time; she looked down at her own weapon and began adjusting the equipment and attachments. As they were preparing, she could hear the battle beginning over the ridge. Even at their distance they could hear the commander speaking "Soldiers of the Scourge, hear my call! The skies turn red with the blood of the fallen; leave only ashes and misery in your destructive wake. Let the death march begin!"

Joi knew the barricades would only last a few minutes at best. Cinereal finished loading up before taking the patch on her sleeve and tearing it off. "What is our plan?"

"Just over one hundred, they're in the open, all focused forward. They'll be taking fire, but not caring too much. Five hundred meters between us and the town," Joi attached a grip and a large ammo box to the underside of her rifle and chambered the first round.

"So I'll shoot from the ridge as you attack directly from their six. When you start engaging, I'll run and shoot-and-scoot on the way to the town and work on driving the invasion back. Do what you can on your own; you'll have only enemies nearby, that seems like your style."

Cinereal nodded then removed her jacket, tightened her boots and belt, and secured her weapons. "I'll wait for you to exit the tree line and then I'll start firing. Cinereal, don't take too many chances. Soften them then meet up with me," Joi told her before standing up. "If they get through, they will decimate the town and will gain an important foothold, we can't let them."

Joi left most of her bags in a pile next to the ATV and took out a baseball bat from one and clipped a strap on the grip to her jacket. "Let's go."

Cinereal made her way out of Joi's view. The longer the battle in front of them went, the more she became galvanized, "We were all fools," she thought. "Where're our main forces, why is only one commander on the field?"

She had so many question, but their answers, she realized were all the same. The shock troops were expendables to act as fodder to kill civilians. She realized that with Joi's help, she was now better outfitted than everyone before her.

Cinereal stopped and looked out ahead of her. She drew Strigon, loaded its gun, and sprinted into the clearing. She set her sight on the closest enemies on her right and charged faster. Five shots rang out from the ridge Joi was crouched on, the furthest from her, five troopers fell to the ground.

Cinereal's hands glowed as she swung her blade at the back of the closest soldier. She ran past him as he fell and brought her sword down upon the shoulder of the next one, silencing him mid-yell. A burst of fire came down at the captain's guard, taking half of them. A dozen of the forces saw Cinereal and moved to enclose her between them.

Cinereal pulled the trigger on her blade and spun around. Despite its inaccuracy, the wave of bullets startled her attackers. She let the power within her explode, a wave of energy knocked them back a step as she dove at one, running them through, before using the dust to increase her speed.

The energy from the dust her implants were using was emanating from her as she slashed someone she passed and leaped into the air and descended upon the troop's Commander, tackling him and driving her Strigon into his shoulder and the ground "Goodbye, Sir," she said as his weapon fell uselessly next to him into the snow as he struggled to remove the weapon.

"Traitor!" She heard a yell as three more troopers ran at her with large axes. Cinereal looked down and pulled Strigon's trigger, unleashing a stream of rounds that one ran into, tearing up their leg as the clip emptied and they fell to the ground.

The next attacker swung her axe from the side as Cinereal ducked before popping back up and using a dust-infused uppercut to their jaw, sending them flying and her weapon on the ground. The third one howled behind Cinereal and lifted her now-glowing axe above her head to bring it right down. At least that was before one of Joi's shots tore into her side.

Cinereal looked over and saw Joi running across the wasteland and every few seconds kneeling before letting a burst of shots into the fray before sprinting again. Unfortunately, the ones who tried to surround her just moments ago were attempting to do so again. With her weapon still in the ground, she took her two new blades off of her belt. Gripping them, she steadied herself and, as the first enemy charged her, she used her dust to jump and drove both blades into their shoulders. She turned and stuck the next one, hooking them with her left blade then finishing them with a fluid motion of her right blade into her next opponent.

Across the field from Cinereal, Joi was still running to the town. She saw that her prediction was right. The forces to the front were preoccupied by the militia they were attacking, the force in the rear was being assaulted by Cinereal who was preventing the enemy from a victory through rapid dominance, and chaos among the entire enemy force from herself.

At first, the militia was as confused as the enemy when it appeared that one of the troopers were attacking the rest, but the civilians took charge quickly and used it to their own advantage, first one they had today. Joi did a mental count of her shots are figured her ammo box was half empty. Instead if stopping again, she took a grenade from her pocket and threw it into the middle of the forward force.

Being shot at is a bit of a life-changing experience, being near an explosion is even more so. With the attackers distracted, Joi slowed down and held her trigger down, taking about ten seconds to empty her large ammo box. She disconnected the box and dropped it to the ground before loading a much smaller magazine and changing her weapon to a single-shot setting. She took some pot shots at the rest of the middle force, running closer. A quick look to the back showed her that Cinereal was causing a lot of damage using spins and fast strikes, much different to when she used her original weapon, making her better suited for fighting a mob of enemies.

Joi aimed and made a volley of shots at the ones attacking Cinereal. As Cinereal weaved through her attackers, she began to get lost in the fighting. The flurry of jabs and slashes began to feel routine and monotonous. Whatever hits she was taking were not reaching through to her as more and more opponents came at her. The newest cluster of shots from Joi took down an entire portion of the group on her side, snapping her back into focus. "Get out of there!" She heard Joi yell behind her.

Cinereal turned one of her short swords around and struck the hilt against the one closest to her. There was a loud bang and a slight flash as the person she had hit fell to the ground much faster from the impact. She struck another in the same way, knocking them to the ground and causing one of their allies to trip over them. She took her other sword and struck its hilt into the chest of her closest attacker, knocking them back into a mess of others. She took this chance to move away and kite a few of her pursuers along before Joi took them down.

Cinereal fell back to Joi, and they moved towards the town wall. Joi spotted five Scourge Troopers trying to climb over the nearest barricade, she let her empty rifle fall into the snow and ran at them with her bat poised. A red and orange burst of light came from her as the energy from her own dust formed the illusion of wings of light on her back as she swung up.

Joi's first target flew back-first into a building's wall. She brought the bat in the opposite direction and knocked the legs out from under the next one. She turned and struck the third in the neck with a backhanded strike. She lined up just next to her last two dumbfounded opponents. Planting one of her legs, she swung the bat like she was hitting a pitch and hit the last two in the same swing, knocking them both unconscious. Cinereal turned back to look at the battlefield as Joi's dust faded away and saw the few demoralized attackers left.

The troopers who wanted to keep attacking were taken down by the militia before they even got close. A few tried to run off, but those that were left from the original force laid down their weapons and surrendered. The cleared forest was littered with abandoned gear and weapons.

"I think I know what to call these swords, Joiea. Carmilla's Fangs," she said before dropping her weapons in the snow.

"Well they're yours now ... Did I ever tell you the name of my weapon?" Joi asked as they both slumped against the wall behind them, catching their breaths. "Pursuit of Justice. I never told ya... But I was out exploring the forests when I saw... Those troops attacking. I couldn't... Stand by." She finished, low on breath and they sat in tired silence for a bit after.

Joi later spoke to the militia and helped to detain the new prisoners of war. A second enemy attack didn't come before the Homeguard arrived to reinforce the town. Cinereal's former allies were without morale and guidance; some, like Cinereal, no longer believed in the fight since they watched their leaders order them to torch villages with people still inside.

The passage of three days led to Cinereal and Joi sleeping in a warm tavern with actual beds. One evening there was a knock on Cinereal's door. In her doorway were two people.

The first, was Joi wearing jeans and a black jacket, completely different from the white and green cold-weather gear she had been wearing the entire time they had been together. Beside her was a much older man, taller than herself, with a beard and greying hair wearing a olive drab uniform with "HOMEGUARD" written on the sleeve; she looked at his shoulders and saluted the general.

"Cinereal, meet General Fordring"

"There is no need to salute me, my dear. I owe you both a great deal, and I would like you both to follow me."

The three of them exited the hall and then the tavern. They were joined by the General's escort as they walked through the street to a nearby school with armed guards in front. Saluting the General Fordring, they opened the doors to the school's gymnasium. Within were two dozen prisoners with varying degrees of injuries, half of whom were still in bindings one being the recovering commander, all under the watch of armed guards. Also within the gym stood many of the militia leaders and members along with Homeguard soldiers.

General Fordring moved up to the center of the room before standing strait and speaking. "We have all been witness to a terrible tragedy; the blood of good men and women have been shed upon the soil. Honorable knights, slain defending their lives...our lives. And while such things can never be forgotten, we must remain vigilant in our cause. "

"Those responsible must answer for what he has done and must not be allowed to cause further destruction in our world. Many of you here are young, too young to have had to face this kind of tragedy. But this has been a tragedy for every person here. You who were attempting to invade have been abandoned, treated as only cannon fodder. Many of you and your forces committed great atrocities that will never be mended... But those of you here, are young and were manipulated, taken advantage of, you were given great tools of power and yet were not given a way to use these tools."

He gestured to four individuals behind him, three huntresses and a captain to his own forces, "Which is why I propose this, any who wish to, may attend certain academies and train to be hunters, others may choose to join my own forces here."

He looked at some still bound and sitting, "Some of you may never have that chance. Of that, I shall be the judge."

He turned to the militia members and then to Joi and Cinereal, "Your efforts and sacrifices have saved innumerable lives, and for that, we are all grateful. I beg for your forgiveness of my inability to arrive sooner, none of you should have been asked to fight like this..." He looked down with his shoulders falling slightly as he trailed off into silence for several seconds before reaffirming himself. "That is all!"

The uniformed forces saluted in unison as did others, including Cinereal, although out of habit. The General moved to speak with some of his officers as the gymnasium began to grow more talkative as the people inside began to filter out. Joi grabbed her hand and led her to one of the huntresses, a woman with glasses and black hair in solid black with a thin embroidery of blue, green, and red on her clothes. "Professor Ebon," began Joi, "I will be attending your academy in the coming month. I would like Cinereal here to attend as well. I can vouch to her ability and potential, as well as the risk she does not pose from her previous employment."

Cinereal remained silent as the Huntress looked her over before speaking. "You could use improvement, as anyone does, but this is for you to decide."

"Ma'am," Cinereal paused and stood straight, "it would be an honor to attend Beacon."


	4. Chapter 4: The Caregiver

Chapter 4:

It was a sunny weekend in the city beyond Beacon and Signal Academy. The city was alive with full streets and freeways, the sky dotted with dozens of airships. The beautiful Beacon Academy shined atop the mountain, overlooking the massive city. The Sun was beginning to get lower in the sky as Chroma Narina was walking back home from a trip around the city while carrying the products of some errands in a brown paper bag.

She was wearing a two-tone green skirt, today's was in a pattern reminiscent of a watermelon, which reached her ankles, tennis shoes, long, striped socks, and a comfortable, long-sleeved shirt. As she walked down the street, she quietly mumbled the lyrics of the song she was listening to over her headsets.

Rounding the next corner, Chroma took out her earbuds as she passed a garage and a large truck parked in the building's loading zone. She looked at the clock on her phone and noted that it was 5:50 pm and she had ten minutes to spend getting ready as she opened the door to the small restaurant, the Citrus House.

The Citrus House was an odd, two-story building that had a fence-enclosed back alley which led to a concrete garage and a fire escape-looking stairway up to the second floor; the back had some weather-proofed crates lying around for storage and not much else. The first floor was the restaurant and kitchen while the second floor was a cluster of six rooms which had been turned into five small bedrooms, an office, and it already had come with a small kitchen.

Walking in, Chroma looked around the restaurant's interior. To the far right, by the bathrooms, was someone drinking a coffee and was deeply reading a book. Two tables over was a girl her age studying for the end of this semester's classes; she was listening to her headsets and taking notes while drinking her usual hot cocoa. Chroma moved out of the way as someone passed to leave having just received their take-out order. To the door's right was the restaurant's kitchen, behind the counter was a tall woman with baggy blue jeans, a red bandana holding her brown hair, and a white button-up shirt, over which she was wearing a black apron with a drawn orange slice in the corner. Chroma waved to get her attention and smiled, "good evening, Clementine."

"Oh! Chroma, how are you dear?" She said, turning her attention from the dish she was preparing, "You won't believe it, I got two more tenants today! They said they were transferring in for school but they wanted somewhere nearby to call home and keep some things."

"That's actually kind of surprising, please tell me you charged them enough to keep the kitchen running" said Chroma, laughing.

Sticking out her tongue and smiling, Clementine replied, "Of course, and I doubled yours and my other renter's rate as well."

"Yeah yeah, assuming he even comes back once in a while, I'm sure you could tell him then."

"Well I assume he has, considering that's his work truck in front and he's coming out of the restroom now."

The next response came from behind Chroma. "Well I do plan on moving that truck in a bit, I'm done with work for a while, just need to unload it and make a last stop to get rid of some vac pipe." She turned to face the voice of a familiar face framed by long brown hair. "Oh, hey Cap!"

"Hey yourself, Chroma. It's been a while," he smiled, "you should've seen the traffic I had to deal with on the way into town," he exaggeratedly complained as he adjusted his belt and shirt.

"You're planning on staying a while then?"

"Well I sure hope so, considering I don't have a home besides here and I start up classes in a few weeks. Well I'll be back later, and without the need of a parking space. Oh, Clementine! I'm sorry but the garage will be a mess until I get back, I'll clean up right after."

Chroma put her bag in her room and Cap walked out. He began leaving boxes and bags on the sidewalk before unloading a large, covered object and a large crate with a freight dolly, rolling them inside. He came back and said goodbye just as Chroma was coming back down.

Chroma grabbed a white apron with a picture of a lime on it from off of the wall and tied it behind her. As he walked up, Clementine finished preparing a chicken sandwich and salad. "Chroma dear, would you take this to table 6?"

"Got it!" Chroma grabbed the plate and walked over to the customer as Clementine worked on cleaning up dishes along with the counter and stove. When she came back there was a new customer coming in. After making the newest order, Clementine untied and hung up her apron, "I'll see you in the morning. It's so good to have you for the evening, if I didn't have you I'd need to be up from four in the morning till midnight to be open as long as we are."

"No problem at all. See you in the morning, boss." Chroma said as Clementine headed upstairs. She took orders as the low and steady stream of customers entering and exiting continued.

After serving twenty of the usual looking patrons everything from rib eye steak to iced mochas with petite scones, someone a bit different walked in though, a girl a bit younger looking than Chroma herself, wearing a tailored black uniform and with silver hair which carefully attempted to cover an eye patch over her left eye. She looked up at the menu on the wall and unslung a hockey bag from her shoulder. "You can really order anything you want, even if it's not listed. Is there anything you'd like to order, miss?"

"Oh um... I think-," she looked outside before looking back up at the menu and to the display case for pastries. "I don't really... I mean I'm with someone else and..."

Her eyes locked on one of the cakes on display as she was stumbling over her words, but she relaxed as another person spoke up as they walked in "See anything good, Cinereal?"

A young, red-haired woman wearing a black leather jacket entered through the door with an even larger bag on her shoulder and a hard cover carrying case in her hand. Looking over at the counter, she grinned, "hey! Long time no see, Chroma."

Chroma leaned against the counter, "Hey there Joi, it's been a long time, nearly six months and I'm sure this meeting isn't a coincidence. What can I do ya for?"

"Well to start with?" Joi's face became serious as she looked around suspiciously before leaning in and whispering, "I need two cocoas and two of your super burgers," before grinning as Chroma chuckled. "Oh! And two keys for upstairs. The two of us are going to billet here now."

Already throwing the meat on the grill, Chroma looked to see Joi pointing a thumb at Cinereal who looked a bit confused by the encounter occurring before her. Chroma quickly reached for two paper plates and two cups. She put the cups under a hot drink dispenser and spoke towards Cinereal. "The two of us met each other about five years ago in school. Joiea here was in the same classes as I was for about two years. The next year, we aren't which is how school sometimes is. Year goes by and we end up reconnecting when I take a truck to a repair shop and there's Joi working on some bikes."

Chroma began to put whipped cream over the full cups as Joi picked up the last bit. "And surprisingly, Chroma here turned out to be a vehicle enthusiast and we bonded over machine love as she called me out to restore a plane."

"Still flies great," Chroma interjected.

"Of course, I told you it would as long as you took care of it right," responded Joi as she grabbed a cup turned around. Cinereal said, "thank you," quietly as they both went to an open table, placing their bags underneath.

As the meat finished cooking, Chroma began adding lettuce, tomatoes, onions, and a combination of sauces to the buns for the burgers. Fresh off of the stove, she brought Joi and Cinereal their food before getting a card off of Joi to pay. They both thanked her and she went back to the counter as new customers came in.

With the sun having set, the dinner rush entered full swing. As usual, no one ordered anything too complex, most of the customers being locals or commuters or an occasional office worker out late just looking for something hot. Joi came over again while talking on her phone for another hot cocoa. "Hey, I gotta go pick up a friend with no ride. I'll probably be back in an hour or two. Bother Cinereal a bit would you? I feel bad because I think everything here is completely new for her."

Chroma tossed a keychain at Joi who caught it expertly with her free hand, "Yeah, I heard about what you both did up north."

Chroma looked over to Cinereal who was by herself at a table, just staring at her food. "I'll help her out, don't worry."

Joi put one of her bags behind the counter then thanked Chroma and left.

As the stream of patrons started to wind down, Chroma took the opportunity to take a big slice of carrot cake out of the refrigerated display and took it over to Cinereal. Cinereal was slightly startled as Chroma set a plate of cake in front of her. Chroma smiled kindly as Cinereal looked up. "It's yours, on the house."

Chroma sat down in front of the surprised Cinereal and began talking. "I saw you eyeing it, but you never asked for it. Thing is, I've noticed you not saying very much, I hope I didn't make you anxious," Chroma pondered with concern.

Cinereal frowned, "I'm sorry."

"No! Don't apologize, it's all on me. So lets start over, hi I'm Chroma, what's your name?"

Cinereal smiled a little then took a breath and responded. "Cinereal."

"Well, welcome to the city Cinereal, it's nice to meet you. Enjoy the cake!" Chroma stuck out her tongue and did a mock salute as she stood up to return to work.

As it got later, bored, Chroma took out a heavy book, about twelve by ten inches and two inches thick, with a leather cover and small carbon fiber plates protecting the edges from underneath the counter, the cover was a bit misleading though. The book actually was a device designed by Chroma herself, which she named Logic Breaker. Beneath the cover was a sheet and frame made of hyper-dense aluminum used to house a computer, some sensors, and its screen. The spine held some wires, a dust-based power cell, a dust-based cooling system, and a hologram projector. The other side of the "book" contained storage compartments, a folded, basic 3D replicator, and a removable, cylindrical component which contained a mix of dust stores and a system of communication arrays that could also unfold and be turned into a war hammer. Although, that part still wasn't working yet and needed more work.

Chroma turned on the screen and began looking at some news feeds and a few intel sources. Skirmish intel from up north, White Fang activity, civil rights movements hitting more roadblocks, reports indicating monsters in other continents reaching out to the borders more towards inhabited areas, dust robberies, and weather patterns. Changing programs on the touch screen, she checked some merchant listings and ordered inventory that the restaurant was low on; she left a note for Clementine informing her boss of the orders and delivery dates.

Chroma stopped looking down as five men entered the door, three of whom more or less stumbled in. Chroma took the orders of the first two who kind of looked like their night on the town wasn't living up to expectations. They ordered some beer pretzels and hot dogs along with some drinks. She already had their dogs on the grill and started mixing their cocktails as they sat down. The next three were much louder in line.

"The- the nwerve of some bith to start breaking the cluuub, " slurred the first.

"Totally ruined my moves when I was tryna hook up some chicks."

"Can I help you, sirs?" Chroma tried to interject.

"Yeah man this night completely blows; we ain't got no girls or nothin."

"Sirs, would any of you like to order?" Chroma said a bit louder.

"Aw fuck umm" the most sober of the three started, "give me-"

"Two whiskeys for each of- HIC of us" interjected his friend.

"Yeah" the other two agreed together.

"I can't serve any of you three alcohol, would you like to order a cake or meal instead?" Chroma asked politely, setting down the previous order's drink she was making.

"What the fuck, why not?"

"Do you know who we are lady?"

Chroma calmly slid a hand into her apron and pored a bit of white dust into her palm and held it. "I don't care who you are," she responded as they had now gained the attention of the entire restaurant, "you are all incredibly intoxicated and are now disturbing our customers. I'm afraid I'll have to ask you to leave the premises, I will only tell you once"

"The fuck are you gonna do," one said, grabbing the unfinished mix off of the counter and chugging it.

Chroma took her hand out of her pocket and threw the dust in the air, creating a wave of frost which knocked the one with the glass onto the ground. The next one took a swing at Chroma, his punch stopping against a barrier she had just cast. He yelped in pain and sank to his knees while holding his bleeding fist.

"Man, screw you!" The last one yelled as he took a small knife out of his pocket before his head impacted the counter as Cinereal clocked him from the side.

Cinereal grabbed the first and third one and dragged them by their collars outside. Chroma grabbed a pot still filled with dishwater from the sink and dumped it on the group after Cinereal put them all on the street. "And stay out."

As Chroma and Cinereal walked back in, three of the patrons applauded and Chroma gave a very sarcastic bow and curtsy before remaking the drinks the drunkards had spilled; four tables gave her an extra tip as they left. An hour later, at 10:30, Chroma closed the kitchen as the rest if the tables filtered out for the night.

As Cinereal sat on the counter and Chroma was cleaning the floor, Cap and Joi walked in while in the middle of a conversation. "...Well yeah it's a bit old, but I think it should power up. Besides I got my hand on some rare parts and replacement kits," Cap was explaining as Joi was nodding.

"You speak my language. But you're gonna do as much as me, I'm not doing all of your damn maintenance."

"Wouldn't dream of it."

"Good," Joi responded contently. "Good evening Cinereal and Chroma, why didn't you tell me Cap was staying here, Chroma?" Joi laughed.

"I didn't even know you knew one another."

Cap began to walk away before Chroma called him back. "Aren't you forgetting something? The garage is still a mess."

"Oh damn, you're right! Sorry."

He went out the back door and Joi followed. Cinereal began helping to clean tables and stack chairs while Chroma mopped and swept.

When everyone finished cleaning the four of them went upstairs and sat at a dining table while eating some leftover desserts and telling stories.

"Well that reminds me, I have a gift for all of you. Well to be fair, they're things I don't need but I'm sure they are perfect for each of you," said Cap before walking to the garage and returning with a bag.

He set the bag down and set a pile of papers and two boxes of computer parts in front of Chroma as she set down her tea to look at them, some boxes of specialized elemental ammo and a couple of coils of silk rope for Joi, and for Cinereal he put the rest of the bag in front of her. When she emptied the bag it revealed an odd assortment of items. Inside was a set of light body armor, two glowing bracelets, a cell phone with preloaded games, and three books.

"Consider this back-to-school mixed with housewarming presents," Cap said.

"Can't believe school starts next week." Joi laughed.

"Don't remind me," shot back Cap.

"Well goodnight," Chroma said yawning, "it's weird having a full house."

Before she closed her door, she leaned on her doorway and looked over to Cinereal, "You okay Cinereal?"

Quietly, Cinereal responded "I'm not... from here, or anywhere like here. You've all been so nice to me here and I'm nervous about going to Beacon. I won't really know anyone or what to do."

Cap sat up, "you're headed to Beacon? Well I'll be happy to help you out any time since I'll be there."

"And of course the same from me!" Cheered Joi.

Chroma looked around, "Well that's funny, I'll be going as well. Of course that means I'll be nearby too. So it seems you already have three friends walking in."


	5. Chapter 5: Rough Morning

Chapter 5

The sky was red, someone in a jumpsuit and hard hat ran through the wasteland of grey ash and dust. His helmet fell to the ground and he didn't bother going back for it. The man running was fauna, brown triangles protruded from his bouncing hair as he jumped over the black crumbling logs. A second man ran out of the smoking wood piles and grabbed the yellow helmet as he too ran away from whatever was chasing him. "Captain! They're right behind us!"

Cap had already been on the move and ran up to where the two runners were, before slowly falling back with his weapon raised. Out of the smoke a hundred feet ahead emerged three black monsters, seemingly with white masks, on all fours. Cap squeezed the trigger and didn't let go.

A large crow flew overhead and screeched. The screeching began to sound digital before Cap threw his hand to the side, searching for his alarm.

Finding it, Cap sat up and opened his eyes to his small apartment. The rising light outside backlit the curtains against the window, but the rest of his room was still dark. He lay down and stared at the light fixture above him.

Outside of his door Cap could hear someone moving in the kitchen, the spinning of the small fan in his room, the streets outside already with cars on them, and the faint echo of far off sirens complimented all of it. He rather liked the city, all of the noise was easy to ignore when you lived here long enough, even if it was months since you had been back.

Still tired, Cap fixated his eyes on a portion of the ceiling and held his hand up in front of him. He felt the air against his palm and focused on the feeling, concentrating and envisioning a small sphere of spinning air. Slowly his aura began to visibly manifest itself in the same spherical shape. After a few moments, he let the energy slowly spread down his arm and across his body, lifting away the weight and soreness he felt in his limbs. He dropped down his arm and closed his eyes, relaxing in the slight warmth over his body before it evaporated away taking most of his exhaustion with it.

Cap sat up and then stood and stretched. He looked around at his bleak room with some clothes and pillows strewn across the floor. There really wasn't ever much time for him to actually personalize and live in his room since he had always been on the road working since he had left Signal.

On his desk, which was really a sheet of sanded and varnished wood on top of two locked filing cabinets filled with only notebooks, old textbooks, and pens, sat his main computer which he used mostly to store movies and music as well as surf the Internet. His other computer was a small, shock-proof, field laptop he had gotten while on a job as a fringe benefit, which he had already packed along with some other hardware like speakers, spare plug and battery, and a mouse. Other than the color of the blanket colors on his bed, the only other personalizations he had were a poster of a tank cartoon with all of the characters on it and a painting of the ocean on his wall, the first from online and the other was from a street artist.

Cap went over to his dresser and hamper where he grabbed his clothes he planned to wear for the day, which were definitely not the sleeping shirt and workout shorts he was already wearing, and opened his door to the common-kitchen.

From the door, Cap could see Cinereal sitting in the corner focused on the phone game she was playing. She ignored him as he walked over to the bathroom whose door was closed. He knocked on the door then waited as he heard movement inside and a few moments later it was answered by Joi. "Mornin', come on in. I'm done anyway," she said, moving out of the doorway.

Cap went in and closed the door behind him and undressed before going into the shower. As the shower got hotter, the steam just reminded him more of the dream he'd had once again. "I should mention it to Joi..." He muttered to himself as the water swirled around the drain.

"A whole year... It's been a whole year almost."

He was wounded, his legs were in pain but he had to keep moving. How much of the squad was left? How many were there? He had to remember. He had to get there. Who wasn't dead? One two three four- no wait- seven- two- who was still guarding the evacuation.

No one, Cap remembered. The entire security force had died or disappeared, one by one. The only fighters who had been left after the first week were him, some local rangers, one hunter, and his boss. "And then the strikebreakers came," he mumbled.

Cap stayed under the torrent of the shower a few minutes longer, just staring and spacing out at the tiled floor. That was all for another day. Rebuilding his posture, he turned off the water and threw on his jeans and black T-shirt before stepping out of the steam-filled bathroom.

Joi was sitting with her feet up on the table with a cup of coffee in one hand and a book in the other. Absentmindedly she took a sip while and kept her cup up to her lips as she continued her reading. Cap walked over to the kitchen and opened the refrigerator, searching for one of his cans of high-protein milk. This constituted as a breakfast for him, albeit a cheap and unsatisfactory one for most.

Cap cracked open the can and drank the cool beverage as Joi turned another page, still sipping from her cup without paying attention. He looked over to the only closed door which belonged to Chroma and then back over to Cinereal, still focused on her game. "Hey Cinereal," he started, "are you packed up for today?"

"Yeah," she said without looking up.

Cap looked back to Joi who was in the same position but no longer staring at her page. "You know, I'll take that away if you can't focus on your classes," Joi said.

Cinereal mumbled a yes without looking up leading Cap and Joi to side eye at one another. "We are taking care of a child," mouthed Joi silently.

Cap gave Joi a sarcastic look. "Dont be so dramatic, we are taking care of a teenager. You can't possibly mean you were never like that," he mouthed before he went back to his breakfast as Joi shrugged in response.

The door next to where they all were opened and a frazzle-haired Chroma in pajama pants and a colorful tank-top came walking out with her eyes nearly closed. She strolled over to the sink and grabbed a cup, filling it with hot water. "Morning, Chroma," said Cap.

Chroma mumbled something incoherent along the lines of a hello to each person in the room before plopping a tea bag inside her cup. After which, drifted over to the bathroom, while dragging an outfit behind her, where she quietly closed the door and locking it.

Cap reopened the fridge and grabbed a few eggs and cut vegetables he had left over, setting them on the counter as he looked for some good deli meats. He made his way over to the stove as Cinereal stood up to watch over his shoulder as he cracked the eggs into a skillet. He spent the next few minutes adding some spices to the eggs and cutting up the meats and vegetables, waiting for the right time to add them. "You need to wait till the edges of the egg in the pan look solid, then you break it up and wait again," Cap explained without prompting from his observer, "after the egg stops spreading and looks nearly solid, you dump the solid bits in."

Cinereal remained quiet but watched as Cap put bread in the toaster before breaking up the eggs with a spatula again and added the ingredients he had cut. After a few minutes, the burner was off and Cap the toast was on two plates just as Chroma walked out of the bathroom fully dressed and a towel draped over her head.

Cap served the scramble over the toast and set it on the small table as Chroma sat down before he did the same for another plate and handed it to Cinereal as well. "Thank you, sir," she said quietly.

"Seriously, I'm not your commander. You don't need to call me that," said Cap, "Joi may personally enjoy the honorific in regards to herself, but it is not my personal preference, generally," Cap mused.

"This is good, Cap," said Chroma, now fully awake.

"You're a much better cook than I am, and you know it," Cap paused, "but thank you."

Joi walked behind Chroma and stole a few bites from her plate then gave a thumbs up to Cap, "it's good, you should eat this rather than those damn meal-milks."

"Yeah, yeah. I was working a lot lately, so I just have a lot of these laying around." Cap grimaced, "they're very easy to get used to."

"Anyway," he changed the subject, "You all realize what day it is? I hope you're already packed, because if not, you have three hours till we all ship off."

Cinereal stopped eating, and with a downtrodden face, mumbled "oh yeah... School."

Chroma wolfed down a slice of toast then said, "Not just any school, but Beacon Academy! It's basically the best hunter academy around."

Cinereal was quiet for a bit and it did not go unnoticed, "Sorry, I'm just a bit excited," Chroma apologized.

"No, I'm sorry," Cinereal said, "I've never actually been to a school outside of the indoctrination camps, so I guess you could say I'm nervous about being a soldier in peacetime..." She frowned and glared at her food.

"Don't worry about it, mate. Think of this as the un-indoctrination camp, where they give you cake when you do well and at worse, stern words," responded Cap.

"As you have seen, the world isn't all that at peace, so I doubt this school will be. The purpose of such an academy is to allow the populace to have the feeling of peace," Joi added, "You'll have plenty of hands on fighting and training anyway. Now how about you finish eating and we all get ready to go, alright kiddo?"

Cinereal glared at Joi as she grinned after saying the joke nickname before the glare turned into a snicker, evaporating the annoyance and anxiety she had moments ago, "Alright, alright. But there is no way I will let you call me kid at school. I will get back at you."

Cap got up to leave as did Joi. Joi's room was between Cinereal's and his; she gave him a knowing look before going inside. Cinereal and Chroma both finished eating and did the dishes before returning to their rooms to finish their packing and dressing.

Cap took his bags downstairs and used the time to clean up the garage and his make-shift workshop. He packed everything into some locked crates, including an outdated, pilot-controlled mech he had been working on. Joi came down and took some tools and spare weapon parts to add to her own luggage.

They both talked to Clementine, who was in the kitchen, as Cinereal and Chroma came down with their bags and said their goodbyes. "You gonna be okay without me?" Cinereal asked as she hugged Clementine.

"I ran this place for a while before you showed up," she smiled, "but you made it pretty popular, so I hired two others, the kids of two friends, to work here while you're gone. In fact, here they are."

At that moment, in walked a guy and girl, both canine faunas, and both Chroma's age. "Chroma, meet Banana and Cherry Mirasol," said Clementine.

The two waved as they walked up. "Just call us B or C," said the girl with red hair who wore overalls and a green flannel shirt.

Chroma looked over at the other, an orange-yellow haired guy with a similar outfit but a shirt that was a solid orange, lighter than his own hair.

Looking between the two, Chroma put a thought together and giggled. Pointing at the girl, she said, "You must be C, and your brother would be B. I think I have cooked with you two before, or at least your pepper namesakes." She said jokingly.

The B raised an eyebrow, "I'll give you credit, that was a good guess. Ms. Bova was right; you are good at anything food-related."

"Well Chroma, and the rest of you, have a good semester and don't pick too many fights!" She gave everyone a hug and went back to work, showing the brother and sister around the kitchen and restaurant.

Stepping outside, Joi turned around to her friends and asked, "Everyone have all of their stuff? Not forgetting anything? Water running, computer or oven on? You know i have to ask. No? Okay, let's go then!"


	6. Chapter 6: Arrival

Chapter 6:

There were hardly any clouds and the sun shined bright with a gentle warmth over the city of Vale. The day was still far from over as a dozen or so Airships rose from the city below, each on the same route as another.

"Man, it's crazy how Airships don't have 'fasten seatbelts' signs." Cap thought out loud.

Cinereal looked at him then looked back out the window as the airship rose over Vale. Despite the lack of expression on her face, she stared in awe of the massive city spread out from the mountains all the way to the sea.

"I don't get how you mean," said Chroma.

"I mean, we're in the air, but it doesn't seem to matter. Planes you should wear a seat belt pretty constantly, old helicopters too, and you shouldn't walk around a bus or subway." Cap elaborated.

"Oh I get it," Joi said, "it's because this is like walking around on a train or large ship, but these go faster than ground vehicle, and can maneuver more."

"Exactly!" Cap said, "I'm not going to stroll around a plane as it takes off or walk without holding a harness on a the subway."

"Oh yeah." Chroma muttered. "So that's why you're not letting go of that pole."

Cap had been moving around the airship's cabin but never let go of a single pole for more than a few seconds. "Yeah, if we get turbulence, I ain't going to be the one on the ground."

Changing subjects, "What'd you hear about that, Chroma?" Joi looked over to the projection of a news clip.

"White Fang's doing the usual and Mr. Torchwick is getting lots of dust for something," Chroma said in a hushed voice, "actually, heard a robbery attempt got pretty jacked up by a Signal kid."

"A graduate?" Joi asked.

"No, though her weapon seemed otherwise. Thing is, they promoted her to Beacon at the last second." Chroma said.

"Damn girl, you keep your ear close to the ground. Can't believe a Signal kid took out his goons," Joi said, smiling.

Cinereal spoke up, looking at her group, "Who is Torchwick?"

"He's a mob lieutenant," Cap answered after a silence, "if you're in the underground, you've probably met him, or at least heard of him."

"Do any of you know him?" Cinereal asked.

Cap, Joi, and Chroma all shifted and looked away at about the same time. "Well..." began Cap, "we don't know him on a personal level. I've done minor jobs for his crew before, deliveries and taxi-service mostly."

"I mostly just see him in my feeds and I know some of the people around him. Called an underling of his to reign in some idiot goons at the restaurant." added Chroma

"Vehicle repair," Joi said simply.

"So you all associate with criminals?" Cinereal asked, a bit surprised and frowning.

"It's complicated, Cinereal, we don't do criminal things like them, but sometimes we have to take jobs. I can't be an idealist and expect to eat with my job. " Cap said.

"It's how our lives have to be, sometimes a job is a job and keeps you from being hungry tomorrow," Joi added before a hologram projected the image of a woman with blonde hair and glasses, in a white blouse, aboard the ship. Everyone on board gathered near the terminal attentively.

"Oh, you should pay attention to this." Joi said to Cinereal and Chroma.

"Hello and welcome to Beacon," began the image, "My name is Glynda Goodwitch. You are among a privileged few to receive the honor of being selected to attend this prestigious academy."

"You should take a look out the window," Chroma whispered to Cinereal during the speech.

Cinereal looked at Chroma then over to the window. She was awestruck at the view they now had. The last of the city buildings peeled away as the airship passed, much higher than earlier, over the sapphire bay. Ahead, the towers of Beacon rose from the plateau on which the rested. The academy ahead overlooked a massive forest to its rear, a bay, and lastly the city of Vale.

Chroma pointed for Cinereal, "Beautiful, right? Over there is Signal Academy, and that's the Emerald Forest behind the academy," she whispered.

"Our world is experiencing an incredible time of peace." continued the hologram causing Cap to make a quiet, disapproving grunt as he crossed his arms.

"As future Huntsmen and Huntresses, it is your duty to uphold it," The projection continued, "You have demonstrated the courage needed for such a task, and now it is now our turn to provide you with the knowledge and the training to protect our world."

With that, the hologram faded. Cinereal looked at her friends and noticed them all looking at her. Chroma smiled brightly as Cap and Joi seemed to examine the both of them. Cap focused on Cinereal and gave her a reassuring nod as Joi spoke, "You passed every requirement and more to be here. Like she said, you were selected to attend here. Your being here is one-hundred percent based on merit and skill. All I did was help them know you were on the table."

"Basically, you're great. So don't ever think you aren't or that you shouldn't be here!" Cinereal pouted.

"Now, ignore us and look outside," Cap said as he moved from his pole towards the window, taking Cinereal by the shoulder as Joi and Chroma followed.

The rest of the ship's passengers looked out of the window as the airship began to circle Beacon on the way to land. Not even five minutes into admiring the view, they were already disembarking.

The ship, along with others, unloaded in front of the courtyard across from the center building. The main buildings laid across a pattern of stone walkways and landscaped hedges and grass; small fountains and ponds complemented the area as well. Chroma and Cinereal got off first and started to walk. ahead of them, there was a small crater in the stone walkway which attracted every passer's attention. Cap and Joi grabbed their bags last and took in the view for a few moments before also walking onward.

"Welcome to Beacon, Cinereal. Best school and view in Vale," Said Chroma as they approached the main building, "let's go in, the orientation'll start soon."

The large amphitheater they were entering had a raised stage against the far wall. Seats descended from the walls but had no one seated on them, however the floor was crowded by a prismatic crowd of students with all sorts of outfits and weapons, most even still carrying their bags.

A man, with silver hair and a cane in a green and black jacket, as well as the woman from the hologram walked onstage. The man went up to the microphone and cleared his throat. "That's Professor Ozpin, the school's headmaster," whispered Chroma as the audience's talking died down.

"I'll...keep this brief," Ozpin began, "You have traveled here today in search of knowledge, to hone your craft and acquire new skills, and when you have finished, you plan to dedicate your life to the protection of the people."

He paused for just a moment, becoming less like he was giving a first-year orientation, and more like he was remembering a loss, "But I look amongst you, and all I see is wasted energy, in need of purpose, direction. You assume knowledge will free you of this, but your time at this school will prove that knowledge can only carry you so far... It is up to you to take the first step."

"A very motivating speech," Cap murmured sarcasticly to Joi as Ozpin stepped back from the microphone.

Glynda, the one from the hologram walked up to the microphone, concluding the speech, "You will all gather in the ballroom tonight, tomorrow your initiation begins. Be ready."

Everyone in the room began to talk amongst themselves, Cinereal looked at Chroma, confused. Chroma had the beginning of a frown but looked over to Cinereal and smiled reassuringly, "It's like he was thinking about something else... Who knows what his deal was, doesn't matter anyway."

"In any case, I think we should all go put our bags away and grab some grub." Cap said smiling as he walked up behind the two.

As they were walking though the hallways, Joi and Cap both peeled off to go to one of the locker rooms as Chroma apologize as went to find her own locker and Cinereal was left to eventually find her own, which she did in silence, keeping her head down and her hair hiding her eye patch.

Cinereal continued around the halls, as lost as other incoming students, until she found the right door and walked inside. She eventually found the correct number and simply placed her entire bag in and relocked it. She looked around the room and took in the details of her surroundings, the room's layout, the people within, where it was in regards to the rest of the school.

Cinereal left the room and looked around, unsure of where to go.

_Well we need to get to the cafeteria, that's where the others will be waiting..._

_I would need to find it first, why do they not give maps? All that they gave me was a piece of paper that gave me a temporary locker for today._

Cinereal sighed and started to just walk. She ended up at the cafeteria and crafting wing of the school nearly twenty minutes later, having explored nearly every other building and floor first. On the plus side, she knew where every subject grouping was and even the location of the unassigned, future dormitory rooms.

Making her way through the most clustered group of students since orientation had ended, Cinereal eventually, with clenched fists and no longer with any patience, stood in the middle of the large dining hall before being waved over by Chroma at the far wall.

"This place is a maze!" said a very exasperated Chroma, "They literally don't give out maps, I just downloaded the public blueprints and I don't know where anything is because those aren't labeled at all."

"I... Just toured the entire school... without meaning to. I could help you label a bit?" Cinereal said sheepishly, "If that is okay..."

Chroma cheerfully wrapped her arms around Cinereal and said "Of course it is! I hate being in the dark so much, thank you thank you!"

Chroma took out her Logic Breaker and pulled up a digital copy of the school's structure, its room outlines unlabeled except for a few between where they currently were and the locker rooms. "The ballroom is... Here!" She said, pointing at a large room, "but when we actually have classes I'll have no idea where to go."

Cinereal pointed at one of the farther room clusters and said, "those are dormitories. Oh, hello Ms. Joi, Captain," as she looked up as the other two approached.

"Really, you don't have to call me Captain. You both found your way alright?" Cap asked.

Chroma grabbed Cinereal's shoulder and pulled her close, brightening as Cinereal was completely disarmed and confused. Chroma said simply, "Barely, but now I will, thanks to her."

"That's good," Joi said, "let's grab something and set up shop in the ballroom before others take the good bedrolls. Cap and I just gave up our first prolonged use of a soft bed in months, seriously."


	7. Chapter 7: Morning of the First Day

((AN: this is shorter than i wanted, but i have started school and that has taken up all of my time : i wish i could update weekly as well, buut for now that level of efficiency is out of my grasp. Thank you so much for reading! ^^ hey? are you a RWBY RP'er or just want to see the group as they are put into situations beyond my control? Check out the Team BACC Tumblr at: .com

Hope to see you around!))

Chapter 7:

After a rather noisy night in the ballroom due to four, or really three, noisy girls, Joi was the first of the ballroom's occupants to wake up. She looked at her phone and saw that it was just before five in the morning. She honestly would have preferred not to be and further buried her face into a pillow until her training as a ranger kicked in and kept her awake, ready for the day ahead. She rolled over begrudgingly and stared at the ballroom chandeliers.

The entire incoming class had been noisy into well after midnight, and many had been confused as to why they didn't get beds yet. While there had been many speculations, Joi looked it up online and figured out that teams would bunk in the same room and those would not be assigned until after initiation. Simple solutions were the best when it came to learning why something was, though someone's oddly specific theory that someone had changed all of the room numbers and released various farm animals labeled as one, two, and four in the dorms was an entertaining idea.

Joi looked over to Cap who was sleeping while sitting against a wall, his clothing bag under a blanket in his lap. They were only a year or two older than the rest of the new students, but it felt like more with the way most of them acted, some having no idea how things in the real world worked. She would swear that at least two of the people she had talked to had never gone and bought their own meals from a cafeteria much less any restaurant.

Joi got up and looked for a way out of the room. She grabbed her overnight bag and walked barefoot on the cold stone floors to the locker rooms but made a stop when she realized there was a vending machine for warm drinks.

Cider was surprisingly an option and Joi carried the overpriced drink into the showers with her. She didn't really take her time and was already throwing on her clothes for today. Her normal combat outfit was the usual black jeans and black button-up shirt, a pair of black combat boots, and from just above her second to last rib down to her hip was a type of external corset with red trim made from Kevlar and reinforced with hard plastic and aluminum. Her belts and weapons were still in her locker but otherwise she was ready for the day's events.

Joi walked back to the ballroom through its unlit halls and looked inside before standing in the hallway drinking her cider. She moved over to the windows overlooking Vale and spaced out for a bit. Spacing out, however, didn't prevent her from noticing the person sneaking up on her. "Hello," she said to the stranger behind her.

Turning, Joi needed to look directly down in order to see the black hood at about her chest. "I still say you're way too tall," said a woman's soft voice as the hooded figure looked up.

This person wore all black, but the inside if their hood was a blood red; her outfit fit snuggly on her body for mobility and silence. Joi casually knocked the woman's hood off, revealing a woman with short black hair, pouting at Joi, "Professor Ebon, sneaking up on people isn't nice."

Ebon flailed her arms childishly up and down while quietly exclaiming, "and students like you shouldn't be up so early! I know it's your first day, but still!"

Ebon pouted as Joi pat her head, "I couldn't sleep, you know me. It's too early for you to be this stressed about it. And good morning, how is that city, Hope?"

"A lot of the region is more burned up, and the Scourge attacked again, but Hope is strong, its nearly a fortress now thanks to you and your friend; she is sleeping? I'm glad you made it here, though." Ebon answered.

"For her, this is technically a prison sentence and I'm her parole officer," Joi said frowning, "The General asked about her because she is a kid after all, but damn it she's also a trained trooper with a decent number of kills under her belt..."

"But she's still a kid," a new voice said as Cap exited the ballroom into the hallway. "I don't think I know you," he said in reference to Ebon.

"I am Professor Ebon Limmete," She began, "I teach classes on stealth, evasion, and deception here at Beacon. I also am a night campus monitor and run the Lost-and-Found. And what is your name?"

"Cap Barberone," he said, reaching out his hand, "It's nice to meet you Professor. Oh? You found that vending machine too, Joi?"

Joi nodded before Ebon interrupted with a, "I'm sorry, but I still have rounds tonight, our security head has been complaining about broken cameras and some underground ruins or- anyway, just stay out of trouble and stay here. The Cafeteria opens at seven," she said, throwing on her hood, before walking away and disappearing into the dark.

"Ruins?" Cap pondered rubbing the back of his neck and stretching.

Joi shrugged as Cap walked to the lockers to change out of sweatpants and surprisingly large black hoodie with his Signal graduation year. He eventually came back wearing two T-shirts and his usual jeans while holding a cup of hot cider. He walked over next to Joi and looked out at the view of the city as he slowly sipped his drink. "It's a hell of a view," he said.

"That it is, this is an interesting angle to watch from," Joi responded.

Cap was silent until he took another sip, "I never thought I'd actually get here, sometimes I didn't think I'd even live this long. It's weird."

The shadow of the mountain on which the academy stood began to retreat from over the city as the sun began to rise. "Oh look, you can see the beach refinery from here," Cap said before he grimaced, "and my old home..."

Joi looked over at Cap, "have you spoke to them recently?"

"Not really. Gave my parents a mailing address when I got back into town and then I left." He said as he looked at his still-steaming cup, "Maybe I'll go by for the holidays, go when the rest of the family's in town."

"If you want, I could go with you some time?" Joi said before the two of them looked at the sunrise again.

Eventually, others began waking up and soon everyone was getting woken up by one another. Cap said, "Let me grab my bag," before taking a few steps and turning around.

"And yes, if you want to. That means a lot, thank you," he said before walking away.

The two of them met up again as a steady stream of students began moving between the ballroom and locker areas and some already began headed to the cafeteria. "Better get there before everyone else does," Joi said as the two of them walked through the halls to the Cafeteria.

The cafeteria, or mess hall, or dining hall, as different students called it, was a large and tall room with long tables and large chandeliers above. Looking around, Cap and Joi spotted a short line and quickly stepped in. Food wasn't served for a few more minutes, but eventually the two of them got something hot and Cap said, "Good thing we got here early, this place filled up."

"Yeah, and no one seems to get how to order food and keep a line moving," responded Joi, leering at the incredibly clustered line of people they had narrowly avoided.

Cap took a bite of his bread-roll and looked around, "See an open table? seems those filled even faster."

When he looked over, Joi was already peeling away towards a table that seemed oddly empty besides one person. Walking up, they noticed that the kid was fauna, not that they cared. Others seemed to care too much. "Heya, mate. Mind if the two of us take a seat here?"


	8. Chapter 8: Students, Launch!

((Emergency posted raw chapter, Ive Had a lot of school so sorry I havebt posted lately, you all are great!))

A while after breakfast, Cap and Joi continued down the hall before finding their ways to the semi-crowded locker rooms "Well, not even the end of initiation day yet and the head of security is already watching us," chuckled Joi as she looked for some boxes of ammo and her toolkit.

"Well, you know me, I like to see whats going on. and well, establish that i do, in a way." shrugged Cap, sitting down with a bottle of ice water.

The two of them, after breakfast with a rather nice orange-haired faunus had walked right up to the head of security, a surprisingly young man, and offhandedly asked if he needed help exploring underground ruins, to which he quickly denied needing 'help on something that totally does not exist and if it did why would I have students help me not that it exists or anything.'

Cap looked right at a security camera pointed at him before turning back to Joi, "Initiation's in an hour, what are you working on?"

"Just making the assumption we'll be in the forest, so i'm decreasing the scope and switching out my incendiaries, you?" Joi said.

"I'm bringing the full kit, dont know what to really expect," Cap said, "you sure you want to try and partner up with someone like me? I'm not exactly the greatest fighter."

"But I do believe in your ability, Cap," Joi said as she smiled at him, "you trust me tactically right? Well trust me on this too, you deserve to be here like you told Cinereal- even if you can't keep up with me."

She slapped him on the back before going back to her locker. Cap nodded and got up and went to his own, pulling out his various bags of combat gear. He removed his vest from a bag to put it on and then began resorting everything on his belts and bags. One satchel he would carry was filled with ammo along with a combat-ready tablet computer and had a smaller bag of grenades and other explosives strapped to the outside.

His satchel for the opposite side contained high-energy food, soda and juice, and lots of water; it never hurt to be prepared. His belts contained two sidearms, a .45 and a .33 pistol along with two magazines and a silencer for each, a small toolkit for weapons, some bindings, a coil of thin but strong rope, a flashlight, a folded entrenching tool, a tactical knife, and other random survival tools.

His main backpack contained some weirder and more specialized items like an omni-tool kit, weapon attachments, spare weapon parts, dust containers and crystals, parachute and spelunking gear on the outside, signal flares, weather tarp, a spare set of clothes, combat helmet, and attachments for his Kevlar vest to cover more vitals if needed.

As Cap loaded up his gear, first the vest and belt, the satchels, then finally the backpack with his riot shield attatched as he put his phone and wallet in pockets on his vest, Joi loaded up as well, only much lighter.

She carried a single satchel with much less ammo than Cap, one regular magazine of custom high penetration rounds, one of ice rounds, two standard magazines, a grenade, two small flashbangs, her own tablet, and two soda can-sized containers of dust. Meanwhile, her belt carried her baseball bat, some tools, a small pack of candy bars for if she exhausted her aura too much, a rope coil, a whip for intimidation, her own signal flares, a silencer for her weapon, and a bunch of handcuffs and zip-ties.

"You look like you're going camping, Cap," she said with a laugh as Cap picked up his halberd and used it like a walking stick as they began walking through the halls.

"And yet my camping bag is still in the locker," Cap pointed out, "I use a standard 5.56mm machine gun and have a super weak aura; I'd prefer not to die."

"Fair enough, even after the last year I still can't get over how much energy you have," Joi commented, "If I used my aura I could try and carry as much as you, but you can pack all of that on your own."

"Well not all of us have expert survival training and only need a knife and some rope to rough it," Cap pointed out as they stepped outside.

Joi shrugged in response and looked over her rifle again as they walked towards the edge of the campus.

The cliffs of Beacon overlooked the Emerald Forest, a Grimm-infested region right on the edge of Vale. The cliffside already had a quite a few groups of students showing up early. Glynda and Ozpin were already there, but they were being quite adamant in not explaining what everyone was doing there and what initiation had in store.

A few students were watching a few trees in the forest burning, though it appeared that Glynda planned to put it out just before this initiation group started. "Joi! Cap! You both are in this next group too?" came a voice from behind the pair.

Chroma bounced up to them from behind. She wore her usual kind of outfit, a long skirt and a shirt. This time was a double set of shirts, a violet T-shirt over a long-sleeved pink one, and a blue and white striped skirt; slung over her shoulder was a boxish satchel bag. "Hey Chroma," Joi smiled but raised an eyebrow, "Is that really your only combat gear?"

"Of course it is! If there was a ranking of one to ten on physical ability, I'd hit below one." Chroma exclaimed with a frown, "I can't help how weak my body is..."

"I know, I know," Joi smiled as she ruffled Chroma's shorter hair, "so, spot any potential partners?"

"Oh, a few," Chroma said innocently, "though there are people I know that I definitely do not want to pair with."

Joi and Cap looked past her and spotted the expected assortment of roid-rage jocks- they were a no, some smaller but maniacally cheerful students with some kinds of explosive weapons- also a no, stoic ninja-types, and then just the usual assortment of other hunters-in-training, most of whom the two had noticed the night before.

"Anyway, it was good to see you both before we start! You both look like you already chose a partner," Chroma teased before leaving to go fine-tune her Logic Breaker.

"I swear, the only time I'll ever have as much energy as her is with two hours of sleep and caffeine for breakfast," Cap joked.

Joi gave a small laugh in agreement before gesturing to a familiar Cinereal under the shade of a tree. She looked to be observing the field of students before her, and they decided to not bother her.

Cinereal wore a pair of pants colored tundra camouflage, the new pair grey and white pants she had received from the quartermaster in Fordring's Homeguard to replace her formal uniform from the Scourge and be used in the field.

Over her grey long-sleeved shirt, she wore what looked like small and tightly-placed football pads over her chest. The 'pads,' as Joi would refer to them, had its external plates made of super-dense aluminum and the padding between it and her was made of Kevlar with extreme-temperature-resistant, ceramic plating arrayed halfway within. This armor of hers was from her previous service, only she usually wore her cloak and, if she needed them, her bulky thermals over her armor but if was far too hot for any of those.

Other than her main armor, she wore steel-based boots and black gloves with a strap that wrapped and protected up each of her wrists, all made from thin and flexible Kevlar materials to prevent easy cuts from blades. The two of them decided that they'd let her do her own thing and not intrude.

Walking over to some shade, they kept an eye on the headmaster while taking about their equipment as Cap occasionally interjected with a dumb joke or quick story. Joi usually just rolled her eyes and laughed at how bad a pun may be, but she knew that the lack of seriousness was Cap's way of distressing before doing something like this. So while he joked and wasn't acting serious, when Ozpin called for the gathered students to line up, he and Joi were among the first in position on one of the platforms bearing the academy crest.

"For years you have trained to become warriors," Ozpin began he he sipped his from his coffee mug, "and today your abilities will be tested within the Emerald Forest."

"Freaking called it." Joi joked quietly from the platform next to Cap.

Next, Glynda spoke, "Now I'm sure that many of you have heard rumors as to the assignment of teams. Well allow us to put and end to your confusion... Each of you will be given teammates, today."

"These teammates will remain with you for the rest of your time here at Beacon, so it is in your best interest to be paired with someone whom you work well," the headmaster continued, "that being said, the first person you make eye contact with upon landing will be your partner for the next four years."

The line of students murmured amongst themselves, some trying to speak in protest.

'Landing?' Joi silently mouthed to Cap, 'anyway, you and me. What color?'

'Blue flare, red if in danger. Good?' Cap responded without speaking.

Joi nodded and looked back at Ozpin, Cap began to switch the straps on his bag around and strapped a smaller one closer to his front, anchoring it to his vest and belt straps.

Ozpin ignored some of the criticisms and gave them all their mission, "after you meet up, make your way to the northern end of the forest. You will meet opposition along the way, do not hesitate to destroy everything in your path- or you will die."

As their headmaster spoke, everyone silenced at the mention of the word 'die', Chroma felt like this was a well rehearsed speech, perhaps one he gave every year to every first-year judging by his nonchalant demeanor. Though perhaps that was just the years under his belt being displayed. "You will be monitored and graded for the duration of your initiation, but our instructors will not intervene. You will find a temple at the end of the path containing several relics; each pair must choose one and return to the top of the cliff. We will take into regard that item, and your standing, and grade you appropriately... Are there any questions?"

Cap raised a hand after a bit of silence, "so we touchdown, regroup, secure a relic, and RTB. But how are we getting down? I don't hear an airship or heli- oh god we're catapulting aren't we."

Ozpin stared at him a moment before simply sipping from his meh and answering, "Of course," as the platforms started to launch students down the line.

Cap rolled his eyes and muttered a "roger that" as he took off his hat while her bent his knees and bit a strap on his vest so he wouldn't bite his tongue. He looked next to him and saw Joi's orange and red aura flare up as she flew off while giving Cap a wink. His own pad lurched and he felt the wind fly past him. He took a calm breath as he looked down at the passing woodland, he then curled his knees as the air around him began to slow along with his rate of climb.

The feeling of weightlessness was always a bit off-putting, especially for someone who was heavy and carried heavy equipment like Cap did. But he always carried so much equipment because he was painfully aware of how weak of aura abilities he had and of how easy it was for him to die. So as he held his breath, Cap pulled the strap he had already prepared and heard the tell-tale sound of cloth fluttering in the wind behind him as his body began its decent in the air.

His rectangular parachute caught enough air to fill and he felt the sudden lurch run through him as it did. His chute caught the wind and he lurched again to a much safer fall speed and he relaxed while he sailed on the air. Looking down he spotted the only other three students he really knew.

Joi soared through the air until she angled her legs to hit the densest foliage, her aura flaring so she didn't get filleted by the branches. She disappeared into the leaves and her feet connected with a larger branch, slowing her more before it broke. She then grabbed a large branch towards the tree center and hung from it, her aura keeping her body from tearing itself apart, before just dropping down to a solid footing.  
She scanned the tree-line as her aura dissipated, spotting other students with varying landing methods.

Cinereal had a similar tactic, but her method involved sending large arcs of electricity from her implants crawling across her clothes as she extended her bastard sword. She swung it and drove it into the nearest tree, using the electricity to keep her hand closed and gripping as she sung up in the air and then used the direction change to cancel her momentum as she flew up before dropping down and standing on her embedded blade. She checked her bearings and looked in the sky for a certain person.

Chroma gave a bit of a cheer as she sailed through the air and quickly began casting her 'feather fall'. As chroma fell, a casting circle appeared under her causing the air below her to grow denser and push up on her feet. Like magic, her decent slowed and she seemed to surf on the air.

Cap watched her fly by as he descended in towards the canopy, steering his chute towards a large clearing in the trees and descended faster. He curled his knees while staring at the ground before moving his feet forward and moved like he was running as the chute lost air and he undid the connection and did a tumble to lose momentum. He quickly stood and checked his surroundings before reaching for his flares and slapped the back of the canister as he aimed it into the air.


End file.
